Eucalyptus - a pencil drawing

 

My first drawing in the year 2026!

The prompt 'fresh' in the Sketch A Day app had some photo inspiration with it and I picked the Eucalyptus branch to be my subject. Mostly because I have wanted to draw one of these branches for a long time but never had the opportunity. 

In a floral arrangement I got for Christmas was a small branch and I used that one as my reference.

My plan was to draw the leaves only and the stem would be suggested by the shapes of the leaves. This works very well with this branch.

After my first layer of pencil I looked at the result and decided to stop drawing. The black of the paper is still visible and that adds to the atmosphere I wanted to achieve. 

The 'experiments' in this drawing gave me the results I hoped for.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Mistletoe - a pencil drawing

 

Today's prompt in the Sketch A Day app was Mistletoe and I really wanted to make a bit more than a quick sketch.

Remembering all the references that were given in the app I made a drawing of a branch with some leaves and berries. This was to be the one with most details so I used water to 'awaken' the colours and added a second layer of pencil after the water had dried.

The background branches have only one layer of pencil.

Looking back at the references I see I made a mistake, the berries should not be at the end of the branches.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this drawing and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Cranberry - a pencil drawing

 

Another 'Sketch a day' drawing, I am really happy that I found this app. It helps me to keep a daily habit of sketching, sometimes a quick one, sometimes the sketch becomes a small drawing.

The prompt 'Cranberry' made me want to try to achieve that very special red colour these berries have - especially when they arrive in my kitchen fresh from the store. For this I might have used watercolour for a better result and maybe I will try if that is so.

For now I am happy with my little drawing of a branch of cranberries.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this drawing, its availability and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Rose hips - a pencil drawing

 

For our short vacation in the Moselle Region I had only brought drawing materials like pencils and charcoal. Usually the light in a vacation home is not fit for painting, so I prefer to only make drawings.

The bush with the rose hips was two steps away from our vacation home and one of the first days I made a picture of the outer branches with some rose hips.

For the drawing I selected only a few branches and made my drawing using two kinds of water soluble pencils. I used water to 'awaken' the colours of these selected branches. After that had dried I sketched the shapes of some of the other branches very lightly to balance the composition.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this drawing and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Tree bark with ivy - a pencil drawing

 

Some months ago during a nice forest walk I made a reference picture of tree bark with some ivy growing up the tree. There were a few branches of the ivy, a lot of the tree bark was still visible. This reference picture was made for later use.

Last weekend I prepared this drawing, by making the watercolour under painting first and after that had dried I made the lines of the branches of ivy, the outlines of the leaves and the structure of the tree bark.

Later, during my presence at the 'Af en Toe Kunstroute' (an Art route not far from my home in which I often participate) I had almost six hours to complete the drawing. Of course I had to talk to the visitors, give information about my art, the route and more but there was enough time to work on this drawing.

Only for the leaves I used a bit of water after the first pencil layer. After that had dried, I added two or three more layers of pencil until I was happy with the result.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this work and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog. If you are interested in my original artworks, please contact me.

Virginia creeper - watercolour painting and pencil drawing

 

Last week we visited the Castle Ruin of Valkenburg (Netherlands) and one of the things that attracted my attention was this plant in full Autumn colours creeping over the walls of the castle. I made some reference pictures to make a pencil drawing.

The drawing was made but for several reasons I was not completely happy with the result

and I decided to use the drawing (second picture) as a study for a watercolour painting.

For the watercolour painting (first picture) the paper was given a hint of colour, using the colour of the 'mergel' or marl stones that were used to construct the castle. On top of that background I painted the leaves of the Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and added the structure of the stones using a watercolour pencil. 

The emphasis of the watercolour painting is now on the plant and its autumn colours as I wanted it to be.

The information about the materials I have used for both the drawing and the painting, the sizes of the works and the availabilities can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Medlar - a pencil drawing

 

Last week we were on a short vacation, this time not only my husband and me, but also our children and grandchildren. That meant I did not have much time to make walks and/or drawings. Reference pictures were made, so I will catch up in the coming weeks.

This drawing was made during our short stay, from a reference picture I made during a nice walk near the 'Drielandenpunt' at Vaals (The Netherlands). We walked in the hills and passed through woodland areas, fields, crossed - or almost crossed - some borders and really enjoyed the walk.

This bush did attract my attention, I had never before seen these fruits. They look like large rosehips, but are in fact too large to be a rosehip. The plant is one of the 'rose' family, a medlar, Mespilus germanica. 

For the drawing I used my watercolour pencils, leaving the background only in one colour (in reality the leaves were still green) and adding water to the fruits, so the colours would be enhanced and so the fruits would be emphasized. This worked as I hoped it would and I am really happy with the result.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this drawing and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog.